**DIY ADA Style 60p Stand meets Exotic Woods**

Hi all,

I'm new to this hobby again and wanted to start off with something different. I have come across many DIY ADA style stands made from MDF or Plywood or Pine.. but what about mother natures' beautiful exotic woods?.. I live in Australia and we have some beautiful species and this one is my favourite so far:

Blackheart Sassafras Description:
Sassafras grows as an understorey tree in Tasmania's wet mixed forests and rainforests but also grows in Victoria and New South Wales. Timber from the plain sassafras logs was once used for clothes pegs because they do not contain any tannin. Today sassafras is famous for its spectacular black-heart stain caused by naturally occuring wood fungi which produces a range of contrasting brown to black colours in the heartwood.
Black-heart sassafras timber is used in wood turning, furniture, joinery, for veneers and in many souvenir items. Creative veneer lay-ups can produce stunning effects with even slight amounts of heart stain. Spalted sassafras timber, fine dark lines caused by stain fungi in the log after harvesting, is also attractive and popular in craft and furniture items. (Taken from IST Australia)

I have been able to source a small quantity just enough to make this cabinet. Before purchasing any woods to use for furniture, make sure its been kiln dried, seasoned and has a complete flat surface with no warping or cupping in the wood. Otherwise its not usable and cannot be joined properly and you will have a "wonky" cabinet.

Dimensions are 600mm Length x 300mm Wide x 650mm High x 18mm Thick.

First task was to surface plane all the required pieces, pair them up with familiar patterns on each side and cut the panels to size. Here you can see the beautiful natural tones and colours in this blackheart wood.

Next was to join the wood and give it strength in between the joints so we dont get pieces warping or moving once complete. I chose to make biscuit joints and use size 20 biscuits for this project and titebond III glue.

I used 4 biscuits between each join.

Next clamp all the pieces together to form a tight and straight fit. Leave to dry for 24 hours before sanding

Here's the finished back piece. Will look wonderful once finished using pure danish or tung oil. Note the pairing of wood to make it look more natural and not so out of place.

Here is an update. I've finally joined all the required pieces and cut to size.
Cutting the service holes wasn't fun, but it had to be done!
Then biscuit joined all the panels together remembering to use an 90' angle ruler to keep things square and in check.
Next step was giving it a good planing and sanding. Here is the almost finished product before the final oil finishes.
For extra strength and stability, i've added L brackets screwed up on all corners.

Update - I managed to get off work early today.. so straight to the workshop to finish construction of the stand.. I fitted the concealed hinges then lined up the door and finally complete before the final sanding and oiling/buffing. Can anyone recommend a good finish?..
Enjoy!

Since this timber is called Blackheart Sassafras, I wanted to show the blackheart growth displayed in contrasting colours at the centre of the door, just as in nature where its grown from the centre of the tree.

Also, here is a sneak peek of the next cabinet's timber. Tasmanian Huon Pine.. more details to follow soon!

You can see the timber currently seasoning in my workshop on small wood racks to circulate air and acclimate temperature and moisture conditions. This Huon pine was milled from a 2000 yr old tree then air dried for over 40 years before being milled into boards you see below. The smell of Huon oil coming from this timber is amazing.. I wonder if it would make your living room smell like a bit of nature if it was made into furniture??

Here is a planed, dressed and sanded piece of Huon Pine ready for construction.

But, even the furniture artisans of old used other than cabinet quality wood in hidden areas, like for drawers, shelves, backs, etc. The wood they did use wasn't junk wood by any means, but it still wasn't the highly figured, colored cabinet quality wood. I guess what I'm saying is, if you hadn't used that wood for hidden areas you could have made me a stand too!

Hehe.. thanks for the tips!..
That's true you could save money by putting a cheap piece of timber as the back wall, but since we open our cabinets alot for serving, it's nice to keep it all one species inside out.
I'm making a few smaller stands 30cm x 30cm x 70 cms at the moment in different timbers.. Will post up soon!

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